SMITH, Otis E. (1853-1931)

SMITH

Posted By: Karon Velau (email)
Date: 6/18/2020 at 17:28:32

Otis Ezra Smith
(August 16, 1853 – May 11, 1931)

Indianola Tribune, Indianola, Iowa, Tuesday, May 12, 1931
High School Alumni Wire Expressions of Regret At Passing of O. E. Smith
Heart Attack is Fatal to Otis E. Smith
From widely scattered sections of the country, alumni of the Indianola high school who have risen to positions of prominence and who received their preliminary education while Prof. O. E. Smith was superintendent of the local public schools, come telegraphic tributes in honor of their beloved teacher. The following former students of Mr. Smith sent wires expressing a personal loss at his passing.
A Fine Character
Mrs. Florence Schee Robnett, dean of women Northwestern university: “Mr. O. E. Smith was one of the finest characters and most inspiring personalities it has ever been my privilege to know. His death is a great loss to the educational world and to all of his associates and friends. His influence for constructive living will long continue.” Dr. Avery O. Craven, history professor Chicago university: “News of Professor Smith’s death brings a sense of personal loss. I remember him not so much as a teacher but as a personality. His humanness was outstanding and his interest in people genuine.”
Mourned by Hundreds
Clare W. Barker, professor university of Indiana: “O. E. Smith will be mourned by hundreds of his former students who learned to love and respect him during the years he served Indianola as superintendent of schools. He gave the best years of his life to us. We shall all be better because of that gift.”
Ahead of His Time
Mrs. Nell Snow Talbot, Chicago, Ill., assistant dean dental department University of Illinois: “O. E. Smith was a great educator twenty-five years in advance of this time.”
Had Many Activities
While his first interest was in educational affairs, he never lost an opportunity to serve in civic matters, and he was prominently identified with church work. He organized the first high school Y.M.C.A., a movement which spread to high schools throughout the United States. Mr. Smith reached the peak of his career as an educator while superintendent of the Indianola schools. For fifteen years beginning in 1909, Mr. Smith was a member of the Iowa State Sunday School board.
Native of Indiana
Mr. Smith was born near New Albany, Indiana, August 16, 1853. His father was Joseph Smith and his mother was Miss Jeannette Casey. He was the second of a family of ten children. In 1860 he moved with his parents to Camp Point, Illinois. At the age of thirteen he came to Iowa, the family settling at Ashawa near Valley Junction. He received his early education in the country schools near Ashawa and Adel. As a young man, Mr. Smith began his teaching career. He entered Simpson College about 1874, and while a student in college he taught in rural schools to help defray his expenses. He graduated at Simpson with the class of 1879. He was united in marriage to Miss Annie Slusser August 25, 1881. After his marriage he moved to Harlan, Iowa, where he taught one year. The following year he taught at Ida Grove, following which he farmed for two years. In 1885 he accepted a position in the Monroe, Iowa schools where he remained for four years. Then followed eight years in the Des Moines public schools, six years at Shenandoah, and twenty-one years in Indianola. Mr. Smith is survived by his wife, four daughters, Mrs. J. N. Fuller, Denver, Colorado; Mrs. Carl Pryor, Burlington; Mrs. J. W. Billingsley, Newton, and Miss Blanche Smith, Cleveland, Ohio; one son, Howard O. of Ames; two sisters, Mrs. A. A. Peters, Tucson, Ariz., and Mrs. Jean de Chauvenot of Los Angeles, Calif., and eight grandchildren. A daughter, Miss Lucile, died in 1918.